At the Wood Stove Decathalon in Washington, D.C., Nov. 16-19, a panel of experts discussed growth of residential pellet heating, some pros and cons, as well its current role in U.S. renewable energy generation.READ MORESHARE

The Pellet Fuels Institute is recruiting members and other industry representatives to get involved in the development of new pellet safety standards by the International Standards Organization. Those interested are encouraged to contact PFI staff. READ MORESHARE

Rentech has begun construction of its planned pellet facilities in Atikokan and Wawa in eastern Ontario and is on schedule to meet pellet delivery obligations to Ontario Power Generation and Drax next year.READ MORESHARE

Forest2Market kicked off a 24-part series to educate wood pellet project developers about the complexities of the U.S. wood supply chain. Topics will range from feed-in tariffs and certificates for difference to sustainable feedstock demonstration.READ MORESHARE

The Alliance for Green Heat's Wood Stove Decathalon is underway at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., an event during which twelve teams are competing for the title of the cleanest, most efficient and innovative wood stoves.READ MORESHARE

A new government report highlights the economic importance of passing a comprehensive Farm Bill. It discusses many benefits of a strong Farm Bill, including those related to the bioeconomy and clean energy.READ MORESHARE

A three-party collaboration between Drax, Lloyd's Register Rail U.K. and WH Davis has yielded the world's first pellet rail wagon, which maximizes the efficiency of each train load that rolls out of Britain's ports.READ MORESHARE

Viridis Energy Inc. has formed a wholly owned subsidiary, Viridis Merchants Inc., to arrange transactions between buyer and sellers of alternative energy, including wood pellets. The company has also hired a commodities trading specialist. READ MORESHARE

Biomass equipment manufacturers are striving to provide top-of-the-line feedstock-sizing equipment. Inspired by customer feedback and demand, several companies made upgrades to their products this year.READ MORESHARE

The Danish government has filed a report on its domestic market for wood pellets with the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service's Global Agricultural Information Network, noting Denmark is the largest importer of wood pellets in the world. READ MORESHARE

The U.K. Department of Energy and Climate Change has released updated energy trend statistics, showing that 1.55 million metric tons of oil equivalent fuel was used by the bioenergy sector to produce electricity during the second quarter of 2013. READ MORESHARE

Biomass power is among the technologies addressed in the United Nations Environment Programme's Emissions Gap Report 2013. The report considers what actions are necessary in order to limit global temperature increases to less than 2 degrees Celsius. READ MORESHARE

The U.S. EPA has appointed Francesca Grifo as its new scientific integrity official. In her new role, Grifo will coordinate and carry out the agency's scientific integrity policy. She will also chair a standing EPA scientific integrity committee.READ MORESHARE

The Biomass Thermal Energy Council and the Pellet Fuels Institute are urging stakeholders of the biomass thermal industry to contact their congresspersons about supporting the Biomass Thermal Utilization Act. READ MORESHARE

Scientists are now reporting that among dozens of sources of biomass, processed pellets burned under realistic conditions in China emit relatively low levels mercury. The report was published in the ACS journal Energy & Fuels.READ MORESHARE

Finland-based Helsingin Energia recently announced a collaboration with the Finnish Environmental Institute and Tampere University of Technology to evaluate the environmental impacts cofiring wood pellets at its coal-fired Salmisaari power plant. READ MORESHARE